Samoa again joined nations around the world to celebrate Human Rights Day 2021.
This year’s celebration on the theme “end inequalities advance human rights” was
an opportunity to acknowledge and recognise all Civil Societies Organisations and
NGOs for their tremendous work in advancing human rights in Samoa with special
focus on agencies who have been pioneers in advocating and lobbing for equality
of opportunities, accessibility, fairness of processes, and eradication of barriers
and discrimination in Samoa over the years.
The Honourable Prime Minister in her remarks acknowledged the important role
of the civil society actors and NGOs in keeping Government accountable to its
human rights obligations. The Prime Minister further emphasised that “it takes a
collective effort to make progress in realising rights and equality for all in our
country” and thanked NGOs for their contribution and also urged them to never
give up in their fight in promoting and protecting human rights of Samoans most
especially our vulnerable communities.
The event also released the bylaws of Lalovi Mulifanua, Vaiee, Taga, Asau and
Saleia who participated in the Village Family Safety Committee Pilot Project led by
the Ombudsman Office and partners which was initiated out of the National
Inquiry into Family Violence 2018, joining other initiatives to mark the end of the
16 Days of Activism today.
“I would like to congratulate the Fono mamalu o Alii ma Faipule of these villages
for being champions for family violence prevention within their villages by
ensuring the inclusion of bylaws on violence against women and girls highlights
commitment to zero tolerance towards family violence. Such commitment
recognizes the pivotal role of village leaders in family violence prevention and the
protection of women and girls at the village level”, Prime Minister.
This year’s celebration also officially launches the Ombudsman Office also the
National Human Rights Institution’s first national dialogue on good governance
and human rights which started on Thursday 9 th December with Government
Ministries and continued on Human Rights Day with CSOs. This national dialogue
aims to create a platform for our institutions and citizens to share meaningful
strategies that can further strengthen the promotion of good governance and
respect for human rights in Samoa.
The Office acknowledges all the Government Ministries, public bodies and CSOs
who were in attendance, as well as the UNDP Spotlight Initiative for their financial
support specifically for 6 villages’ bylaws.